like a comet pulled from orbit
by amillionsmiles
Summary: AU. In Republic City, a young orphan shows the ability to airbend. Intrigued, Tenzin takes the boy under his wing to figure out why; within a few weeks, Kai and Jinora become fast friends. But old habits die hard, and soon they find themselves sucked into Triad territory. / Kai&Jinora, oneshot.


**A/N:** So, this is _really_ AU; takes place in a world where Korra hasn't left the South Pole yet and so hasn't opened the portals to the Spirit World, but Kai still, inexplicably, can airbend, and Tenzin takes him under his wing to figure out why. For Kainora Week Day 1: "Connection."

* * *

_I am a visitor here,  
I am not permanent;  
And the only thing keeping me dry is  
where I am  
_~"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," Birdy

* * *

"Jinora, I want you to meet someone."

Jinora isn't surprised to see a boy her age standing before her; she's anticipated this encounter ever since she overheard her parents talking a week ago. ("Another kid, Tenzin? I'd love to help, but do you really think we have the means?" "Pema, he can _airbend._ It—that shouldn't be possible. We need to take him under our wing and figure out why.")

What does surprise Jinora are the boy's eyes. Of course, she's seen all manners of people milling about when Tenzin takes her, Ikki, and Meelo into Republic City to visit the park, but a green-eyed, dusky-skinned boy with an undercut is not what she typically envisions when she thinks of the word "airbender."

"Kai, say hello," encourages Tenzin, one hand squeezing the boy's shoulder.

Kai looks up from the circle he's been tracing with his toe. "Hi."

"Hi," Jinora says in return. "I'm Jinora."

"I know." He glances up and to the right, toward Tenzin. "Your dad told me about you."

His voice has a weird lilt to it, a smoky softness enveloping the ends of some of his syllables. Jinora can't determine if it's a trustworthy voice or not, yet. Uncertain, she clutches her book tighter.

"So you'll be staying with us?"

"Seems like it." He smiles, then, and Jinora feels a jolt run through her, as if the two of them share some secret joke.

"Then follow me," she decides. "I'll show you to your room."

Tenzin releases his grip on Kai's shoulder, and as Kai follows her through the air temple, pulling at his suspenders and whistling, "Wow, this place sure is pretty," Jinora thinks: _He'll do, for a friend._

o.O.o

At dinner, Kai scarfs down his food as if afraid it will disappear at any minute. The rest of the family watches him in fascination. When he finishes with a belch and reaches to rub his mouth with the back of his hand, he freezes, noticing that everyone else is still slowly working through their meal. Twin spots of red appear on his cheeks, and he looks down at his thoroughly cleaned plate, stammering, "I'm sorry, I'm not used—"

"Do you want some of mine?" Jinora offers, chopsticks poised.

Kai's throat bobs as he swallows, green eyes gleaming at the soft rice and fresh vegetables. "I…thank you, Jinora."

o.O.o

The next morning, Kai joins them for training. He turns out to be a natural, though a bit more combative than Tenzin would like, and Jinora can't help thinking of a wild animal as she watches. It isn't that Kai is threatening, but he seems constantly alert, gaze rapidly assessing everything around him—almost as if he is cataloguing, _quantifying _things.

She wants to know why. But she can't figure out a way to phrase her words, so she asks a different question: "How long have you known how to airbend?"

Kai shrugs. "Not long." He holds a hand in front of him, flexing his fingers. "I just woke up one day, and the next thing I knew…"

"Were you scared?"

Kai blinks at her, surprised, before his posture relaxes and he shakes his head. "Nah. It was pretty exciting."

Jinora pulls at the sleeves of her robes and bites her lip. "Um. You don't have to answer this, if you don't want to, but my dad…my dad said you were—"

"Homeless?" prompts Kai, one eyebrow raised. "An orphan? Yeah." There's a practiced lightness to his voice; Jinora steps cautiously closer, as if proximity will bring her nearer to the truth.

"All your life?"

"Pretty much. My parents left me at an orphanage when I was a baby, and I ran away when I was seven, so the rest of the time has been living on the streets. It isn't so bad, though. You learn things. Meet people."

"Are you okay with being here?"

"The beds are nicer." Kai shoots her a quick smile, reassuring, before a different one slips into place—more mischievous, daring. "So, what kinda fun stuff is there to do around here?"

o.O.o

It's nice, having someone her age. As much as Jinora loves her siblings, Ikki and Meelo are prone to talking too much and too loudly. Kai, on the other hand, asks all the right questions and listens patiently, supplying Jinora with stories of his own. They explore the Air Temple orchards together, pet the sky bison and ring-tailed winged lemurs, and steal extra rice buns from the kitchen, and even though it's only been three weeks, Jinora thinks Kai is well on his way to considering this place home.

o.O.o

"What are you doing?"

Kai jumps, setting the glass paperweight back on the table quickly and whirling around, hands behind his back. "Just…looking."

Jinora frowns at him from the doorway. "For what?"

Kai scratches the side of his neck. "For anything…interesting, I guess." His gaze darts around the room. "I don't know much about the Air Nomads, so I thought if I could find something you all consider valuable, I'd understand better. You know. Since I'm an airbender too now, and all."

"Well, you won't find any of that in my dad's study," says Jinora, walking into the room and closing a hand around Kai's wrist. "Those things are strictly off-limits. Come on, I'll show you some place where _we_ can go."

She takes him to the library. It's her favorite place on the island—large, open windows, plenty of light, rows and rows of bookshelves.

"See?" she beams.

Kai looks confused. "Um…"

"Come on," says Jinora, rolling her eyes. "You'll like this, I promise." She guides him through the stacks, stopping in front of a book bound in seal skin. "You probably won't find many of these other books interesting—a lot of them are ancient Air Nomad stuff—but this is one of my favorites." Jinora hands it to Kai. "Go on, open it."

Kai does, hesitantly, as if unsure what to expect. He squints at the first page before glancing at Jinora. "It's…a picture."

"Yep!" Jinora grins. "This was my grand-uncle Sokka's notebook for his artwork. They're not very good at first, but they get better toward the end." She flips the pages tenderly to demonstrate—the watercolors have faded with time, but the black-edged strokes still remain, rendered lovingly. "I bet they'd be worth a lot of money, since he became Councilman and Chieftain and all."

Kai swallows. "You think…people would pay for this?"

"Well, yeah!" says Jinora, brightly. "I mean, they aren't _terrible_, right? And they're originals." She shrugs. "Obviously we don't keep them for their monetary value, but who knows?"

"Hm." Kai seems to roll the thought around in his head before he hands the book back. "Here. Let's go see the bisons."

"Bi_son_," corrects Jinora, putting Sokka's notebook back on the shelf and leading the way out the door.

She doesn't catch the way Kai's eyes linger on its spine before he hurries to follow.

o.O.o

The winter chill has started crawling in, fog rolling across the bay. Jinora can taste the signs of impending snowfall in the air, and Meelo and Ikki bounce in their seats in anticipation.

She finds Kai in the meditation pavilion, leaning over the railing and staring at the water.

"It looks like it'll snow pretty soon," Jinora points out cheerily.

Imperceptibly, Kai's fingers tighten on the railing. "Yeah," he murmurs.

Jinora moves to stand beside him, nudging him gently with an elbow. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Kai looks down, smoothing his hands over the wood. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"About what I'd be doing if I wasn't here. Isn't it weird? If I weren't an airbender, I'd just be another kid trying to make it on the streets. A nobody."

Something flares up within Jinora. "Don't say that," she says, sharply. "You aren't a nobody."

Kai smiles, watching her from under the fringes of his eyelashes. Green eyes flashing. "You're right. Sorry. I wasn't trying to make you mad or seem ungrateful, it just all seems…unreal, sometimes."

She isn't used to this Kai. The boy she's come to know over the last two months is goofy and sweet; uncertain and awkward at times, but always eager—to learn, to play, to explore. This Kai is pensive, almost secretive.

Jinora isn't sure she likes it.

"You should come inside," she suggests. "We're having warm cider."

"I'll come in a bit," says Kai.

"Okay."

Jinora has almost exited the pavilion when Kai's voice stops her. "Jinora?"

"Yeah?" she turns.

"I'm glad I met you." He smiles.

Jinora smiles back.

o.O.o

On a particularly cold day, Jinora decides to pull Sokka's art book off the shelf and flip through it by the fire. But when she gets to the library, she finds its usual spot empty. After scouring through shelf after shelf, she returns to the spot—to the book-sized gap staring back at her, the sudden emptiness.

An icy chill shoots straight through her gut. _Oh no. No no no no no._

"Where's the book?" she bursts through the doors of Kai's room—his head snaps up and he pulls his hands away from where he was holding them up to the heater.

"What book?"

"The _book_," Jinora repeats impatiently, desperately. "Sokka's notebook."

"I don't know."

"You're _lying!"_ Jinora has never yelled before. She's always prided herself as the levelheaded, mature one, but this is Kai: her fellow airbender, her best friend, the boy from the streets, the poor, homeless orphan—the boy who, Jinora realizes, she isn't sure she really knows.

Kai looks stricken. And then he slumps, all the fight draining out of him; Jinora watches as he actually seems to _sag_ toward the floor, barely able to keep himself upright. "I sold it," he whispers.

"You _what?"_

"I sold it," says Kai, louder and unable to meet her eyes.

Jinora wants to throw something. She wants to shake him by the shoulders. She wants to—wants to _understand._

"Why?"

"It's winter." Kai's voice is barely audible, and miserable. "I still have friends, on the streets, and…it's hard to make it to spring, when you're cold and hungry. I thought I could help."

"So you sold the book. And gave the money to your friends."

Kai shrugs helplessly. "I'm sorry. I wanted to pick a different book, but I—I couldn't read the covers, so I didn't know what they were or how much they would get, but you said _that_ one was valuable, so I…" He buries his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Jinora."

Jinora only stares at him, speechless, before she turns to go.

Kai looks up as she leaves. "Wait," he says, strangled. "Where—what are you going to do?"

Jinora clenches her fists and sets her chin. "I'm going to get it back."

o.O.o

Two hours and a costume change later, she is in Republic City. The falling snow muffles everything, making the city seem eerily quiet; she keeps a hand on the sleeve of Kai's jacket, partially to keep him from running off and abandoning her, partially to reassure herself. She told Pema she wasn't feeling well as an excuse to "go back to her room" and skip out on dinner, but Jinora has never snuck out before and doesn't know how long her cover will last.

Meanwhile, Kai moves through the streets with practiced ease. From the back, with his collar propped up and his cap pulled low over his head, he doesn't seem ten-years-old. He seems older. Worldlier. Weary.

He takes her down a narrower street, and Jinora wonders if she really should be trusting the same person who just sold off one of their precious valuables. But she doesn't have anything else to go on if she doesn't stay with Kai, so she follows and tries to stay as inconspicuous and alert as possible.

This street is cluttered; the snow has been pushed to the side to clear the road, exposing the gray, dirty underbelly of the pristine whiteness. Wind chimes clink from an abandoned stall, and Jinora wrinkles her nose at the smell of garbage, stepping over a discarded banana peel.

At the end of the street, Kai pushes open a door, a tiny bell overhead signaling their entry. An older, beady-eyed man looks at them from behind the tiny glasses perched on his nose.

Kai holds a finger to his lips, signaling that Jinora should remain quiet as he sidles up to the counter.

While he talks with the man, Jinora looks around the store. Books lie scattered, stacked haphazardly. The room is dark and musty and cramped—stifling—and an overwhelming sadness overtakes her as she imagines Sokka's paintings just sitting here, rotting.

"Jinora." Kai reaches out toward her, hands fluttering uncertainly before falling to his side as he decides against touching her. "Let's go."

Jinora glances at the old shopkeeper, who watches her over the top of his newspaper, and follows.

Once they are back in the chill air, she speaks. "Well?"

Kai turns his face toward the sky. "Someone else bought it."

Jinora inhales sharply. "So…it's over? We're never getting it back?"

Kai smiles. "I never said _that_."

o.O.o

"Skoochy!" Kai greets his friend with some kind of elaborate handshake while Jinora hangs back, uncertain what to make of the shaggy-haired, unkempt boy.

"Who's the girl?" Skoochy asks as they break apart.

"A friend," answers Kai. "How are the others?"

"Doing well," answers Skoochy. "Still don't know where you pulled the cash from, but it was enough for a few coats and we're keeping the rest on hand for food. Thanks."

_Oh,_ blinks Jinora. _These_ _are the friends Kai was talking about._

"No problem. But listen, I need some help."

"Always."

"What do you know about the Red Monsoons' plans for tonight?"

Skoochy raises his eyebrows. "They're prepping for something big. Smells like a turf war."

"So most of them will be out."

"Most. You planning something?"

"Maybe," shrugs Kai.

"You need backup?"

Kai hesitates before his gaze falls on Jinora and he shakes his head. "No. I got myself into this mess; it's my job to take care of it on my own."

o.O.o

They loiter around the city until nightfall. There's something magical about the way the lights in each window slowly blink on—something magical and a bit mysterious, muses Jinora as she tries to keep pace with Kai. Kai has been silent since their meeting with Skoochy, and a niggling thought keeps bothering Jinora.

"Kai?" she asks, stopping.

Kai halts alongside her. "What?"

"Do your friends know you can airbend?"

Kai takes a deep breath. "No."

"Why not?"

Kai looks at her. "People talk. I didn't want to get picked up by the triads or the police. You get noticed, you get caught. And then that's it—you're done."

"But my dad caught you," Jinora says softly.

"Yeah," sighs Kai, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the street. "I got careless. It was just so _cool,_ you know? I felt powerful, for once. I was like a different person."

"Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this?"

He fixes her with an unreadable look, but she also catches a glimpse of the Kai she first met—boyish and genuine and, despite everything, _good._ "Because you're my friend, too."

o.O.o

"Are you sure about this?" whispers Jinora from their perch on the roof.

"Positive," says Kai, working the lock on the window. "There!" he proclaims, rejoicing as it pops open.

"You're good at this," says Jinora, a tiny amount of amazement entering her voice.

Kai winks at her. "I was a thief before I was an airbender. Stay here, okay?" He doesn't wait for her answer as he swings himself through.

Jinora lies flat against the roof, heart pounding. The minutes seem to bleed into hours; the dark sky presses against her, an oppressive weight.

And then—footsteps. Pounding. The window flies open, spilling light into the air, and Kai's head pokes through.

"Jinora, catch!" He throws Sokka's notebook up to her with all his might. The wind catches the pages, creating a flapping sound, and Jinora manages to guide the book into her hands before she looks back down at Kai, wide-eyed.

"Got it," she calls. "Come on." She reaches with her other hand down toward him, toes digging into the shingles to keep her place, but Kai shakes his head.

"No time," he gasps. "They're after me. Just go."

"What?"

More footsteps. "Go, Jinora. _Go!"_

o.O.o

The night air whips against her face as Jinora glides, the book pressed close to her chest, concealed in the folds of her coat. Below her, the city sprawls out, glimmering a buttery yellow, mixed with the gritty brown of the smoke-stained buildings, and she can make out the outline of Air Temple Island in the distance. Home.

But—Kai.

Scared and afraid, Jinora loops back to approximately where they were before, trying to create a map in her head. She ends up landing in some back-end alley; a wall to her back, a trash dump to her right, the smells of a restaurant wafting from farther off.

She _thinks_ they passed this place on their way to the Red Monsoons' hideout. She isn't sure. Without Kai, every street looks the same—dark and crooked and menacing. A rat skitters out from nowhere, and Jinora squeaks, jumping slightly before feeling silly.

She takes a deep breath. _Think, Jinora, think._ _Where were you before? Where would Kai have run to?_

"Lost, little girl?" A voice oozes, and suddenly three figures are slinking out of the shadows.

Jinora trembles, readying her glider in front of her. She'll use it as a weapon if she has to. _Kai, where are you? Kai, I want to go home. Kai, please be okay._

"Such a small, pretty young thing. Where are your parents?"

The monstrous shapes solidify into faces: leering and careless, harsh, cold eyes and menacing grins.

_I need a running start,_ Jinora thinks, helplessly, as they close in. _Or else I won't be able to get off the ground._

"Leave her alone!" A gust of air sweeps through from overhead, knocking the men on their backs, and suddenly Kai is standing in front of her, every line of his body corded with tension.

The men stagger to their feet, confused at first before their gazes harden. "There you are again, little rat," one spits, addressing Kai. His gaze flits behind, to Jinora. "So, _this_ is your companion." He cups his hands around his mouth. "You have something of ours, little girl."

One of Jinora's arms tightens around the book. "It isn't yours."

"And _you_," says the man, wagging a finger at Kai. "Look at you, an _airbender. _I'm not stupid; I know Councilman Tenzin and his family are the only ones left. So what kind of fancy trick is that, hm?"

"Why don't you come find out?" challenges Kai.

The men explode into action. Jinora barely dodges a water whip, and, before she can think, she counterattacks with a focused air blast of her own, dancing out of the way.

There's a momentary pause as the men regard her, trying to make sense of this new situation, and Jinora's heart hammers in her chest. _I'm sorry, Mom, Dad, Ikki, Meelo, the baby,_ she thinks, swallowing her fear.

A silent exchange passes between the Red Monsoon members and they advance again, a little more wary, but still overwhelmingly confident in their victory. "Two airbenders or none at all," says the leader, "makes no difference to me."

"Make that three." A shadow looms over the group, blotting out the moonlight, and Oogi drops into view, his legs brushing uncomfortably against the brick walls on either side of him, blocking Kai and Jinora off from the triad. Tenzin slides off his back, cape settling around his shoulders.

"C-Councilman!" The Red Monsoon members fall back.

"Kai and Jinora, get on Oogi," Tenzin says, levelly, without turning around.

They don't need to be told twice. Anxiously, they scramble onto Tenzin's sky bison; from their new vantage point, Jinora can make out the way the shadows play on the faces of the Red Monsoon members, and from up high they don't seem as scary.

They seem human.

"Now, we can either settle this peacefully, or we can settle this in court." Tenzin's voice is steely, solid as rock. It reminds Jinora of Lin.

"N-no need. We'll be out of your hair. Sir," says the triad leader as he and his group back away slowly. To their credit, they don't take off running, but there is a careful restraint in their movements as they disappear around the corner.

Then Tenzin takes Oogi's reins as the three of them take off into the sky in silence.

o.O.o

By the time they return to Air Temple Island, Jinora is trembling. She's seen her dad angry before, but there's a quiet rage to him right now—the eye of a hurricane, the calm before a storm. They dismount Oogi without speaking, and Jinora holds Sokka's notebook for comfort while she waits for her father to speak.

Finally, he does. "You could have been seriously hurt." His voice is grave, quiet, with an undercurrent of disappointment and worry and fear. "Jinora, you know better."

"I-I'm sorry, Dad."

"Sorry isn't enough!" he explodes, surging forward to envelop her in a hug. "If I'd lost you—Jinora, what could have possessed you to _do_ something like that?"

Jinora looks, over Tenzin's shoulder, at Kai, who stands awkwardly, fingers fumbling with the fabric of his sleeves. She can't sell him out, not after everything they've been through together. Not now that she's so close to understanding. "I…"

"It was my fault," Kai says before Jinora can complete her sentence.

"Kai?" Tenzin straightens, turning toward the boy.

"I stole the book!" Kai blurts, leaning slightly forward, head bowed and eyes trained toward the ground. "Jinora trusted me, and I betrayed her trust by taking the book and selling it so I could give the money to my friends, so then I told her I would help her get it back. It was my idea, to sneak into the city. It was my fault."

"Kai…" Jinora's voice wobbles.

"You stole…" Tenzin tries to follow along. He looks at Jinora. "Jinora, what book?"

Reluctantly, she removes the book from the folds of her jacket, holding it up to her father. Tenzin traces the cover before taking it. He hesitates, peering at her. "Is it true, Jinora? What Kai said?"

"I…" Kai shakes his head at her. "Yes," finishes Jinora, the word sour in her mouth. "It's true."

Tenzin turns, fully, to face Kai. "This is a serious offense, Kai," he says. "And it needs to be dealt with accordingly. So, what do you think we should do?"

"You can send me away," swallows Kai, meeting Tenzin's eyes. "I'll understand if you want me to leave."

Tenzin regards Kai, considering. "Jinora?" he asks. "What do you think?"

Jinora slips her hand into her father's and looks at Kai. She thinks of the wild animal again: caged, with nowhere left to run. But, underneath the resignation—hope, glimmering and green, that maybe, this time, things will be different. That maybe it has something more to offer than just hurt.

"I think," she says, directing every word to Kai even though it is her father's question she is answering, "that he deserves a second chance."

And Kai treats her to the most perfect, genuine, _honest_ smile yet.


End file.
